Latin American Program in the News: Iran Cultivates Friends In Washington's Backyard

Cynthia Arnson was interviewed by Juan Forero for NPR on the recent visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Latin America and his interest in the region.

NPR, 1/9/2012

"Cynthia Arnson, director of the Latin American Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, says Ahmadinejad's arrival in Venezuela permits Iran to claim it still has friends.

"And it's particularly useful to have allies in Latin America, which has traditionally been considered the United States' backyard. So it's a really important way of thumbing its nose at Washington and making common political cause with governments in the region who also share an anti-imperialist and anti-U.S. ideology," Arnson says.